Mary stayed a couple of days at the academy before returning home with her parents to spend the remaining days of autumn break.

  The morning after the ball, she wanted to go see both Bianca and Theodore. The former because of the news she’d heard that she ended up in the infirmary due to an attack by Sol. The latter to see if his family was alright.

  However, she woke up later than usual because she wasn’t used to staying up late, nor to soirées like the one the night before.

  So when she had gotten up, had breakfast, and went to look for Bianca, she couldn’t find her. She looked everywhere, even in the infirmary, whose only occupant was a boy convalescing on a cot, possibly asleep. His face looked familiar. Wasn’t he the one who had entered the ball with Sol? What was his name? Kai?

  “What happened to him?” she asked the healer.

  “We’re not entirely sure. It looks like he was attacked by some dungeon creature, judging by the wounds. But they didn’t find him in the field. He was in a hallway near the gardens. If normally no creature could have slipped into the academy, with the surveillance there was last night, even less so.”

  Mary nodded as she listened.

  In the village where she was born and raised, it wasn’t that unusual for one of those creatures to show up from time to time. The guard took care of them before they could cause property damage or casualties, whether among the villagers or their farm and companion animals.

  At the academy or Solstar, which were farther from the dungeons, that was somewhat more infrequent, but it could happen. However, as the healer had just explained, for it to have happened within the academy walls made no sense whatsoever.

  “Don’t worry,” the healer misinterpreted the reason for Mary’s sudden paleness. “They’ve checked everything and there’s no creature. No one’s in danger.”

  Mary nodded again, still half-absent in her thoughts.

  Well, she had heard the screams, which could have been from that boy on the cot, and the footsteps of the supposed dungeon creature.

  Ronan.

  If it weren’t for the fact that her friend wasn’t around, she might have thought he had ordered one of his undead to attack. And she knew the kindness of these undead (one only had to think of Joe or Bob), as well as that of their master. They wouldn’t have attacked just to attack.

  “And what did he tell you?” She pointed toward Kai.

  “That he was attacked by a giant humanoid creature with claws. That it was sudden and terrifying.”

  Mary, who was looking at the boy, noticed him stirring. Shortly after, he opened his eyes and fixed them on the source of the sound: her and the healer. At first, somewhat unfocused, but as soon as they centered on Mary, he hurried to look away, with what seemed like terror.

  “Are you alright?” she asked him.

  “It won’t happen again, forgive me.”

  The healer frowned and approached the young man.

  “What won’t happen again?”

  He pretended to fall back asleep.

  The healer began to undo the bandages covering his side, probably to check the wounds and perhaps apply another healing spell.

  “Do you need help?” Mary asked.

  “No, don’t worry. Besides, I’ll probably discharge him this afternoon. A couple more healings and he’ll be good as new. But... did he ask you for forgiveness?”

  “I’m as confused as you are. I’ve never spoken to this boy. His partner at the ball, yes. Him, no.”

  “He still has a fever,” he stated after bringing a hand to his forehead. “It could have been some delirium.”

  “I’ll leave you to work then. Thank you very much.”

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  “Like I said, your friend wasn’t here long. She recovered quickly with the healing and asked to go rest in her room, so I discharged her. So don’t worry.”

  Mary smiled at him. It was pleasant to talk to other light magic users.

  She said goodbye and continued, in vain, looking for Bianca. She did find her maid, Berta, who told her that Miss L’Crom had been away for a few days. She didn’t specify where.

  “But is she alright? I heard about her being in the infirmary and I’m worried.”

  “Don’t worry, my lady. She’s perfectly fine.”

  “Thank you. When you see her, tell her I’m going to my parents’ house for these days, that I’ve invited Ronan in case he could stop by. She’s more than welcome too.”

  Mary was aware they couldn’t entertain them at nobility’s level, but they could house them and feed them without problems. The food was less elaborate than that of nobles, but it came from the countryside and was good.

  She was convinced neither Ronan nor Bianca would be bothered by it.

  “I’ll tell her. Enjoy these days with your family.”

  “Thank you very much, Berta. Don’t you have any days off to go see yours?”

  “I wouldn’t have anyone to go see. I’m fine here, waiting for the young miss to return.”

  She said goodbye and went to look for Theodore. He was in his room, preparing to leave. He was going to have lunch with his family in Solstar and, afterward, they would take the teleporter along with the rest of the guests to go spend the days at the family mansion.

  “Are your parents and family alright?” she asked him.

  “Yes. I don’t know why Sol told me that. Nobody was looking for me.”

  The same Sol who had gone to the ball with Kai, who could have been attacked by one of Ronan’s minions.

  She didn’t usually think badly of people. It didn’t come naturally to her. In her heart, she believed everyone was good, although the kidnapping of Bob’s daughter and other girls had given her something to think about.

  She didn’t know what reasons had driven Baronet Thornspire to do what he did. Despite everything, she believed that even someone like him had to have goodness within him and that, had it not been for his unfortunate end, he could have connected with that goodness, however diminished it had been, and changed.

  Was it possible that Sol or Kai needed help reconnecting with that more kindhearted part of themselves that seemed to be screaming for help?

  If Ronan finished soon whatever he had left for the night of the ball and came to see her, she would ask him.

  She suspected her friend could shed light on the matter.

  “Mary, I really enjoyed being your partner at the ball and dancing with you,” Theodore told her, looking at her with his deep green eyes. “Is it possible you’ll change your mind and come with us for these days?”

  “I’d love to, but I haven’t seen my parents in a long time. I’d never been away from them for so long. In fact, not even one night away from home until I entered the academy.”

  The part about loving to was, like everything the young woman said, true. Because not only would Theodore be there, but also other friends of hers.

  “Mary, last night, because of Sol, we couldn’t say goodbye...”

  Theodore, who had gone to a sitting room to talk with her—since he wasn’t going to invite Mary into his bedroom—moved a little closer.

  They were alone, seated on an upholstered sofa.

  Mary, who saw how the boy’s hands approached her face while he kept looking at her intensely, froze, not knowing what to do.

  Was he planning to kiss her?

  If that was the case, it would be her first kiss.

  But she didn’t feel her heart beating nervously and longingly. Rather, she wanted to avoid it.

  She had to react. The young water mage was caressing her face with his fingers.

  The touch was soft, but it didn’t move her at all. It wasn’t Ronan’s.

  Then, yes, thinking about the necromancer brushing her cheeks, she blushed. Theodore misinterpreted the gesture and moved closer.

  If Mary didn’t do anything, he was going to place his lips on hers.

  But how could she stop him without hurting him?

  Too late.

  She didn’t even close her eyes. The whole time she kept them fixed on the mage’s green ones. That’s why, when he made lip-to-lip contact in a soft touch, testing the waters, and what he saw in Mary’s pupils was pity, he pulled away.

  “Mary, I... forgive me.”

  “I’m sorry, Theodore. When I agreed to be your dance partner, I wanted to go with you. And I had a really good time by your side. It’s just that...”

  Tears escaped her. She knew that feeling pity for Theodore was like driving a dagger into the poor boy. But she, who had felt attracted to Theodore and the prince, now realized that nothing of that remained.

  She was young. They were attractive and good people. But they didn’t have Ronan’s pain or depth. You didn’t choose your first love based on whether you could help him heal more. That was obvious to Mary.

  But it didn’t matter.

  This kiss had confirmed that she felt nothing romantic for Theodore and that the cause was a certain pale and sickly boy who at first repelled her because of the dark mana emanating from him. Not anymore. And he was no longer gaunt or pale either. Mary felt that, perhaps in another life, she could have fallen in love with Theodore. Or the prince. Or Alistair.

  But not now.

  “Don’t cry, Mary,” he asked her as he wiped away her tears. “You’re kind even when you’re rejecting me.” He tried to joke, but the pain showed in his smile. “Don’t worry, we can be friends.”

  Mary hugged him. She wasn’t sure if she was comforting him or if he was comforting her. At no point had she intended to hurt Theodore. She would remain his friend and help him whenever she could.

  They stayed like that for a few minutes, until Mary’s eyes stopped releasing silent tears, and a little longer.

  “See you when autumn break is over then,” Theodore said goodbye shortly before they both got up and left the sitting room. “If you change your mind, the doors of my house are open to you.”

  “Thank you. I won’t change it.”

  Mary was no longer sure whether they were talking about going away with his parents for those days or about something else. What she did know was that she had to show Theodore that he needed to turn the page and move on.

  Some girl would be very lucky to have his heart and become the future Marchioness Dravenholt. Just not her.